


The Coloring

by Kay_Peaches



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Physical Disability, Prideshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 01:02:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17653037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kay_Peaches/pseuds/Kay_Peaches
Summary: Seto Kaiba had always had a fascination for a genetic phenomenon called ‘The Coloring’.To most people, it was just an a normal part of being a human - a person would connect in a way to their other half, their soulmate, and their lives would literally be filled with something called color.





	The Coloring

Yami sometimes liked to remember one particular summer day when he was 5, just a few days after his tiny baby brother Yugi was brought home from the hospital. He liked to remember the smell of new born baby filling the nursery, and the sounds of Yugi’s soft coos and tiny wails resounding down the hallway. He liked to remember the first time he had held his brother’s hand, the infant’s fingers so much smaller than he had thought they would be. However, he didn’t like to remember the conversation he had overheard his mother talking to his aunt about - for at such a young age, the words the women had spoken to each other had etched themselves into his mind like a diamond tipped blade to metal. 

“Have the doctors been keeping a close eye on Yugi?” Yami remembered his aunt asking his mother, the both of them in the nursery with Yugi as Yami himself tried to navigate his way from the bathroom to his bedroom. He had stopped at the mention of Yugi’s name, his five year old self still completely obsessed with the new baby. (Really, things hadn’t changed that much in 16 years.) 

“Trust me, if Yugi has PCG, we’re going to know about it so much sooner. We’ll absolutely be able to get him any surgery he might need to reverse it.” His mother’s soothing voice had spoken back. 

“You’re so brave, Masami.” His aunt had responded in a hushed way that Yami realized years later was sympathy. “I know I’ve said this before but I don’t think I would handle having a blind son as well as you do.”

“It’s not easy.” His mother almost sounded sad to Yami’s young ears. “Sometimes I think about how much Yami will miss out on without his sight.” And then his mother said something that would forever change his view of himself. “It’ll be nice having a normal baby around the house for once.”

Looking back on it, Yami liked to think that the discovery of Yugi’s type 1 diabetes was a nice kick in the ass from karma for her.

 

\--

 

Seto Kaiba had always had a fascination for a genetic phenomenon called ‘The Coloring’. 

To most people, it was just an a normal part of being a human - a person would connect in a way to their other half, their soulmate, and their lives would literally be filled with something called color. It was a phenomenon that had lived longer than human records, with images of soulmates painted on cave walls and splashes of every color thrown on the walls around them. Renaissance paintings of women holding their eyes and crying as their soulmates stood in awe just watching the colors come to life around them. Modern art pieces of rooms filled with nothing but different colors, that looked no more special than any other room to the unpaired.    


As far as Seto knew, though, it was a range on the wavelength spectrum that would suddenly become available to his sight if he were to find his ‘soulmate’. However, finding his other half was of little importance to him - he just desperately wanted his DNA to shift slightly at the coloring, and open his eyes to a whole new world that apparently lay just below the hues of whites, grays and blacks he currently saw. 

Reading testimonies and listening to vlogs of people trying to explain what color was seemed like a mockery to the whole experience. Supposedly, every tone of gray and black he and every other person on the planet saw since birth would suddenly change and become so inspiring and indescribable, that many people just broke down into tears. Seto craved to know what red looked like, what color Mokuba’s shirt was, and what color indicated his lighter gray toned eyes over his younger brother’s. 

Mokuba always thought Seto was a little crazy for wanting to experience the coloring.  Some people would meet their other halves in preschool, and would spend all their lives being able to see in color. Others might find their soulmate in a nursing home, and only be able to see color for a few days out of their whole lives. Other people sometimes never found their soulmate. That was just how life was, and Mokuba wished Seto would just accept that. A part of him pitied the poor sap who was his brother’s other half. He had a feeling Seto would shake hands with them and thank them for helping him experience the coloring, and then he would insist they go on their ways. 

It was a really pretty sad thought, considering most people’s coloring day was suppose to be the most magical day of their lives. The world shifting and lighting, and coloring before them in an overwhelming way. It was supposed to be romantic, but Mokuba was sure Seto didn’t have a romantic bone in his body. 

 

\--

 

To Yami, the Coloring was just a passing thought he had every once in a while, and those thoughts mostly consisted of him trying to figure out how he would know his soulmate when they connected. That was typically where the thoughts would end though, figuring that his other half would let him know they could suddenly see in color, and Yami would just shrug and say ‘Cool.’

The 21 year old much preferred to focus his time and energy on more important things, like listening to his brother play Duel Monsters, his studies, and listening to audio romance novels. When their grandpa had first brought Duel Monster cards into the Kame Game Shop, Yami figured it would be like any other complex game on the market: unavailable in braille, and unavailable to him. However, as Yugi started to get interested in the game, and he would invite his friends over for late night duel monsters mini tournaments, Yami found that every move and every play was called out almost dramatically. A seemingly ridiculous game rule, but it helped Yami figure out a way he could participate. 

One Saturday evening, on a crisp fall day, Yami sat on the couch, listening to Yugi and his friend Joey play duel monsters in that same loud and ridiculous fashion they seemed to love so much. Although he couldn’t see, he could still here the peanut gallery-like chatter from Tea and Tristan, a couple of Yugi’s other friends. Yami had a tendency to stay quiet while Yugi had friends over, feeling like a burden if he asked to have them find a way to help him participate, but today would be different. 

“Okay, Joey, that drops your life points to zero.” Yugi called in a sing-song tone, gathering up his cards to shuffle them again and again. “You know I keep seeing a way for you to win against me with that deck, you just have to see it for yourself!” Yugi laughed along with Tea and Tristan as Joey let out an annoyed little groan. 

“Ya need to be playin’ against someone of ya own strengths…” Joey trailed off, gathering up his own cards in a huff. “Maybe if I-” 

“Joey.” Yami’s voice cut deep and clearly through the room like a knife through butter. “Could I try? I think I have an idea of how to utilize your deck.” Yami didn’t know what looks everyone in the room were giving him, but he figured it was probably a little funny at least. 

Joey cleared his throat, trying to get this thoughts together in a way that wouldn’t come off as insensitive. “Uh, yeah, man. I uh, just don’t know how you’ll read the card-” And he was cut off again with a hearty laugh from Yugi’s older brother. 

“I’m blind, not deaf. Just whisper what cards I’m holding in my hand from left to right and I’ll take care of the rest. You might not realize it, but when you all play, you tend to describe each card’s ability and placement on the field in extreme detail, so this should be easy.” Yami mused, shifting himself off the couch to sit down against the coffee table he knew they were playing at. 

Yugi just grinned from ear to ear, seeing his brother take a sudden interest in duel monsters. But maybe it wasn’t so sudden. Yami always sat on the couch when they played, and would nod at good moves and make faces at bad ones. Yugi really should have known early on that Yami would be a force to be reckoned with in Duel Monsters. “Alright. Big brother versus little brother, let’s see what you have against Domino High’s duel monsters champion!” Yugi’s voice was light and airy, his bright face a good indication to his friends that Yami could do this with only minimal help. He knew perfectly well that their mother had probably tuned in to the game, constantly worried about Yami and his limitation, thankfully she had learned to keep her thoughts to herself with the 21 years of living with her son’s condition. 

Joey placed the deck in Yami’s hand and the 21 year old cut the deck. “At least you don’t have to worry about me cheating, Yugi.” The older brother mused, placing the deck to the side and drawing four cards. 

To any normal observer, the duel looked fairly standard, with the brothers facing off against each other. For never having played before, Yami was thinking quick on his toes and using Joeys deck in a way the 16 year old would have never thought of before. To the normal observer, the only off thing about the duel was the small pauses they took for Joey to whisper the card name into Yami’s ear, and that was just fine with him. The more normal he seemed, the better. 

A smirk spread across his face after a handful of turns, Yami placing one card face down in the spell and trap card zone with one weak monster in face down defense position. It was clearly a trap, but Yugi went for it anyway, and it cost him the duel. Yami knew he had won again his little brother, but by the way Joey whooped and cheered, he seemed much more excited than Yami. He gathered up the cards with a smirk on his face. “Never forget, Yugi.” Yami called out with a grin, passing the deck back to Joey and reaching out to grab his folded up white cane. “Big brothers always win.” He teased, snapping out the cane and making his way to the kitchen for a snack. 

Yami’s win didn’t go uncelebrated by the blind duelist, the man simply having a mini party for himself in his room with a bag of his favorite chips. It felt nice to be able to play a complicated game like that with only minimal help. It made him think he might be able to one day play against people besides his brothers and friends. If he could make a name for himself without being known as the blind kid, then maybe his mother could forget for even just a moment that her oldest son had a disability. 

 

\--

 

Battle City was not only shaping up to be an incredible event to bring the globe together for the purpose of a peaceful game, but it was also turning out to be Seto Kaiba’s Magnum Opus. His Monalisa, his sistine chapel. Battle City was truly the perfect Duel Monsters tournament in every way, with the duelists treating each other with passion, and respect. Of course, Seto had his own lot out for a few duelists he believed would make it to the finals, a young high school boy with next to no losses under his belt seemed to be the biggest threat to Seto, but he figured he could take on a kid. Especially one that seemed so weak and simple-minded in all his photos. 

Seto had heard rumors about all the contestants that seemed to be doing well in the competition. A white-haired man that used a ghost deck, three egyptian siblings that just seemed to be destroying the competition, a confident woman who wanted fame and fortune. These were truly all interesting characters that Kaiba was looking forward  to meeting. If only to understand them better in order to defeat them in what they all do best. 

Kaiba felt as if he had prepared for every possible scenario to play out, and although the competition was heated, there was no reason for the duelists to despise each other, and even if they did, Kaiba prepared a backup plan. So he really wasn’t expecting a dramatic, tense, or spectacular opening dinner to the finals. The whole point was for all the duelists to come together, eat, learn about how their matches would be made for the finals, then retire for bed. He had planned for the worst, every scenario running through his mind except for the one that seemed to want to happen. The one scenario that might actually be considered a happy occurrence.

Seto Kaiba took long, large steps toward the dinner hall of his blimp, Mokuba just a few steps behind him, still holding the briefcase in his small, strong fingers. The sole of his boot clicking against the tile of floor as he stepped before the dinner hall doorways, ready to introduce himself and Mokuba to the group of elite duelists (and their friends) that had earned a spot in his finale and on his blimp. He pushed open the doors to see all his guests standing around a buffet table, almost in a cocktail hour like set up. There were, of course, tables to sit at, but except for a small portion of friends and spectators, most of the duelists were much too anxious to sit or eat. 

For a moment, everything had gone according to plan. No one was ripping another duelist’s throat out, no one had taken more food than they should have, and everyone seemed to be generally having a good time. 

That was, until Seto scanned the room, a grave and supposedly happy mistake. One that would change his life permanently. 

His eyes stopped on a young man that seemed to be an older version of the high school kid Seto Kaiba had heard so much about. This man was all lean muscles, and sharp features. He was aloof, yet held a presence in the room that was impossible for Kaiba to ignore. “Seto..? Big brother are you okay?” He heard Mokuba’s voice like a whisper on the wind, hardly something that even processed in his mind as he just bore into the glassy, unfocused eyes of the man sitting across the room. 

In almost a trance, Seto began to cross the room, his heart leaping up into his throat in a way it had never done before. If it weren’t for what was going on with his vision, Seto would have assumed he was having a heart attack. But his vision! Oh, god, his sight, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was as if every emotion, sound and smell could be painted into existence. Every little intonation of gray and black began to pop right off the walls, Kaiba’s head and eyes throbbing painfully at the sight of what he could only assume was color. 

Kaiba had never cried since the death of his biological father. Not when he was dumped off at the orphanage by his distant cousins, not when he would be whipped and smacked by Gozaburo to keep studying, not even when his little brother had been kidnapped by Pegasus as a means of taking over his company. But as Kaiba dropped to his knees before the man that had colored the world for him, he felt the painful sting of tears dripping down his cheeks. He could have cared less what everyone in the room was saying or thinking in that moment, as the color of the world overwhelmed him, all he could focus on was the way this unresponsive man sitting in front of him lit up like a fire. His hair looked angry and hot, as if he constantly had wind blowing on his face. His skin turned warm and gentle as Kaiba reached out to hold his hand. 

The one thing that immediately paused his tears, and pulled him out of his trance was the flinch his soulmate gave when his hand was grabbed. Kaiba could only stare in shock as the older version of Yugi Motou pulled his hand back and shook his head with a nervous laugh. “Hey man, I don’t go grabbing your hand out of nowhere. Ask, okay?” 

To everyone around them, it was painfully obvious what was going on. The way stoic, upright Seto Kaiba had dropped to his knees to cry before Yami Motou was clearly an indication that he was experiencing the coloring right before their very eyes. Of course, it was an honor to be able to be present for any loved one’s coloring, but for a rich and powerful CEO celebrity like Seto Kaiba, being in that room was definitely an incredible opportunity to watch. 

“Yami…” Yugi called out first, pity laced in every letter and syllable that passed his lips, which, of course, Yami despised. He hated being a burden and he hated being pitied. 

It became very obvious to Yami that Yugi was not the person crying at his feet. He furrowed his brows and stopped himself from reaching out to touch whoever’s face this was. “Wh-what is it? I didn’t do anything, I swear.” 

Kaiba’s mind hastily began wracking for an answer as to why his soulmate was acting so weird. He had never read a single story of the coloring not being reciprocated, and if he was the first, he was going to be pretty damn pissed. His head shot up to look this Yami person straight in the eyes, his eyes widening with understanding. The glassy look in his eyes wasn’t from being bored, that much was obvious to him. His eyes trailed to the table Yami was sitting at and folded up neatly on top of it was a pure white cane with a little red at the tip. “Just my luck…” Kaiba grumbled, standing up from his spot. He wiped at the tears on his cheek and cleared his throat. 

“Seto! That’s mean.” Mokuba snapped at him from somewhere behind him, but the older Kaiba could care less what was mean and what wasn’t. He always spoke his mind. 

“Whatever.” Seto tugged on the collar of his coat and turned to face this Yami Motou. “Yami Motou. I’m Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporation.” Yami’s lips looked so soft, so plush like a flower petal. Kaiba imagined the lips were probably similar colors to flowers. His brain short circuited, having no idea what to say or do next. “Enjoy the buffet.” He grunted and turned to leave. His long legs easily took him out of the room and towards his private cabin. He didn’t want Mokuba to follow him, he didn’t want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to get the hell out of the room, and explore exactly what this new spectrum was. Alone. 

“Nice goin’ there, Romeo.” Joey cackled as soon as the doors shut behind Kaiba, plopping himself down into the chair next to the older Motou brother. “Ya really swooped him off his feet, didn’t ya?” He laughed, taking a hearty sip of some bubbly carbonated beverage. 

Yami’s eyebrows furrowed further and he folded his arms tight across his chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Was that supposed to be Seto Kaiba flirting with me? That seems a little inappropriate.” Yami spoke up as the room started to buzz with light chatter. It was nice that not everyone would be listening in on his conversation. 

“No no,” Yugi took the other seat beside him, a small plate of food dropping down on to the circular table. “I can’t believe nothing happened to you…” Yugi smiled wide, leaning in closer to Yami just so he wouldn’t mis-hear. “Seto Kaiba just went through his coloring right now. He’s your soulmate.” 

 

\--

 

Pacing in front of Seto Kaiba’s cabin door seemed to be a terrible idea now that Yami was actually there and committing the act. He was at a complete loss of words and had not a clue about how to even introduce himself. A white cane tapped cautiously against the metal of the hallway floors, trying to make as little sound as possible lest Kaiba hear and confront the situation at hand before Yami even knew how to introduce himself. 

As much as Yami liked the thought of sitting together with the other half of his soul, talking for hours on end, and exploring exactly why they were supposedly the perfect match for each other - All Yami wanted to do was touch Kaiba’s face. 

What did his man look like? Was his skin soft, and his cheekbones high? Did he have any significant scarring on his face? Maybe his eyes were sunken in. Yami tended to note that people he met who got minimal amounts of sleep had sunken eyes, as if their body was giving them a physical reminder that sleep was a crucial part of survival. He wanted to know if Kaiba had long or short hair, perhaps he had no hair at all. Maybe he had a beard, and piercings.

But Yami also knew how weird it would be to walk into the room and ask right away to touch Kaiba’s face, as much as the desire to do so was burning him alive. He simply weighed his options, stopping his annoyed and anxiety ridden pacing right in front of Kaiba’s door. Gossip about Seto Kaiba grew like wildfire, so even though there was not a speck of braille on the damn blimp, at least the guards and staff had been helpful in his quest of finding Kaiba’s room in the first place. 

For a split second, Yami thought he might turn around, make his way back to his own cabin and try to forget the coloring ever happened for his other half. The thought was just painful enough to have him knocking on the door, a stupid impulsive move that he wanted to smack himself for. Within a few heart beats, Yami heard steps nearing the door from the other side, his own blood pumping at three times  it’s normal speed as the steps were approaching. As long as he didn’t say ‘Hi, can I touch your face?’ he knew he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. 

With a small click of the handle, the door was opened, and Yami heard nothing but the slow inhale and exhale of a person in front of him. “Seto Kaiba?” Yami asked, keeping his glassy eye’s focus as straight forwards as possible. 

“That’s me.” Seto replied, deep, sharp and quick. And so much higher than Yami had expected. His face shot up at the very clear voice above his head, and he had to question for a moment if his soulmate was standing on a stepping stool. 

“May I come in?” Yami asked towards the new direction. Although changing what direction his eyes were pointed in didn’t make a difference to the way he heard other people, he noticed the general population tended to regard him with more respect if he was at least looking in their direction during a conversation. 

After a second of feet shuffling, Yami heard the door squeaking open a bit wider. “Oh, right, this.” Kaiba sighed deeply and cleared his throat. “Come in. Just, uh, walk forward. I guess.” 

It was a little odd, hearing the very clear lack of sympathy from Kaiba about his disability, but it was also refreshing. Like drinking a glass of cool,  filtered iced water after drinking nothing but warm tap water for months. “You know,” Yami spoke up, deciding to voice his opinion on the subject. “It’s nice to hear what you’re actually thinking about my sight.” Yami stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and using his cane to navigate the new area. He took his time with it, not wanting to trip and give Kaiba another reason to make offhand comments about his sight. “Most people just … sugar coat things.”

“Definitely don’t have to worry about that with me.” Kaiba’s voice was so strong and solid. With his voice alone, Yami could tell he was confident and sure about every word and every action he made. The sound of chair legs scraping against a metal floor rang and echoed through the room. “Sit down whenever you feel like it. If you’re here, I assume you figured out what the hell happened at dinner and want to talk about it.” 

Not subtle at all. Yami could appreciate that so much, and perhaps he should consider doing the same. The face touching could still wait a bit longer though. As his cane finally brushed up against the table’s legs, he sped up his typical process and took the seat that Kaiba had previously pulled out for him. “I thought that even if I was blind, I would still have some kind of reaction to meeting my other half.” Yami began, impressing even himself with how honest and transparent he was being. “I guess I was wrong. I should have Googled it just once at least.”

Kaiba picked himself up from the wooden chair, his voice calling out a preemptive strike before Yami could even make a move. “Don’t get up, I’m starting a pot of tea.” the night was growing old out the blimp’s window, and Kaiba typically didn’t like to drink coffee after 10 PM anyway. “I suppose I should thank you, Yami Mutou.” Kaiba all but ignored Yami’s attempt at apologizing for something that was completely out of his control. “You know, I really just wanted to be able to see in this spectrum. Your services are no longer needed here.” 

“And if I want to continue services?” Yami snapped back almost immediately. What kind of jackass just tries to dump their soulmate the same day they met? “If you’re not happy about my disability you can get in line. I’m sorry to inform you that this is the pot life has decided to give you, and you’re stuck with me.”

“I could give a rats ass about your eyes.” Kaiba’s reply was just as quick and loud and harsh as Yami had been expecting. “I already told you, I only cared about seeing in color. This doesn’t need to go on any longer.”

Yami rolled his eyes and figured he was in for one hell of an annoying life ahead of him if this was actually his soulmate. Words were clearly not the direction to go with this young CEO, and just as if this encounter were a game of duel monsters, the only way for Yami to ensnare the beast was to set a trap. His thin fingers closed around the white cane he had folded up and set on the table. However, instead of snapping it open and making his way out the door as Kaiba guessed he would, Yami chucked the cane to the floor right in front of his feet. “Oops.” Yami sneered, the action very clearly wasn’t a mistake. “I need you to pick that up for me. I can’t see it.”

“You must be insane.” Kaiba kept the pot on the stove going, heating it up, figuring picking up a cane to hand to his soulmate would take a matter of seconds. Lord, was he wrong.

Kaiba had simply bent down to pick up the cane, his knee having touched the ground for less than a second before Yami was making his move. Small, yet firm and strong hands reached forward towards Kaiba’s face, cupping them to start as Yami’s palms pressed into his other half’s cheeks, and his thumbs drew small circles against the corner of Kaiba’s mouth. Typically, when Yami touched another person’s face, it would be a quick and unimportant thing, but in that frozen moment of having his hands against a tall warm face, Yami felt his stomach churning. His heart raced as Yami curled his fingertips inward towards Kaiba’s cheekbones. They were higher than a skyscraper and smoother than a freshly waxed floor. A mental portrait of his soulmate began to be masterfully painted in his mind’s eye. He could feel how thin Kaiba’s incredibly sunken in eyes felt, and the way his soft trimmed hair brushed right along the line of his brow bone. 

Like an artist creating a sculpture, Yami pressed his fingers carefully into each little dip of Kaiba’s face, tracing along each line, and following against every single curve. He memorized where exactly Kaiba’s hair cut short against his shoulders, and how Kaiba’s jaw bone could be used as a cutting knife. Yami, never in his life, had been so intimate in touching another person’s face. He had never felt his hands become so tender and gentle against skin, his mind never painting such a vivid image of another person. 

As he neared finishing his evaluation, Yami found himself wanting to scream at the thought of pulling his hands away. The coloring was clearly not something he was ever going to go through with his condition, however, maybe life decided this was the next best thing - turning his hands into glue, unmoving from the still man kneeling before him. Kaiba’s muscles felt relaxed, his lips turned down slightly as if he was in a typical resting face. To Yami’s great surprise, not only did Kaiba never push his hands away or demand to know what was happening, he also never flinched even a centimeter, as if his skin and nerves could tell exactly what Yami’s hands were going to do next. 

With a deep inhale, Yami finally pulled his hand back, a slight shake from the overwhelming response his body had had to what was supposed to be a typical everyday occurrence. “Sorry.” Yami grunted in a tone that oozed the fact that he wasn’t actually sorry. “I just wanted to know what my other half looked like.” He wished so badly to touch Kaiba’s face again, if only to be able to tell what this stoic and silent man was expressing without words.    


Without a word, or even a second to think about his actions, Kaiba acted upon what his whole body was screaming at him to do. He was already so close to Yami, it really only took a split second. His own hand reached out over the threshold, cupping the frosted eyed man’s cheek and pressing their lips together. To say the kiss was like hollywood magic would be an insult; it was sheer perfection. It was rolling thunder in the distance on a summer night, cracks of lightning filtering the dark clouds. It was a marigold blooming through the divets of moist clumps of brown dirt. It was stepping into the shower at 5 in the morning and being pelted with a stream of icy cold water. 

In an instant, Kaiba had gone from being himself against the world. A man with a tragic backstory, and a little brother who followed him like a golden retriever; to being one half of a completed soul. He had always hated the pretentious looks from partnered souls, and the stories of how much better life had become once color was visible - but color be damned. All those people, including himself, had been so wrong to think that color would be the reason for a life to change. Color was just pigments and light bouncing off of objects. No, the true beauty was Yami Mutou, and his strong confident demeanor, his relaxed and calm hands against his own lap. Kaiba’s eyes had been drawn to Yami in the middle of the crowded room for a reason. Whether that was because he was Kaiba’s other half, or because Yami could control a room without a single word, Kaiba may never know. 

Although the urge to kiss Yami and the following same action had been completely Kaiba’s doing, Yami was having his own little celebration in his mind. For a split second he had figured his soulmate had only wanted color in his vision repertoire, and had selfishly tried to dump Yami as soon as he had his coloring. However, Yami was starting to reason that maybe Kaiba had only made himself believe that because of some fear in his heart. Perhaps if Yami showed him he was serious about creating a relationship with his soulmate, then Kaiba’s walls could weaken a little. 

So Yami kissed back fervently. His lips were swollen and wet with a mixture of their saliva. His cheeks heated up like a stove top clicking on. He didn’t know which of them initiated a deeper kiss, someone’s mouth opening first and their tongues began to dance a complicated tango. Slow, undulating, sexual. It had started off as a kiss from a fairy tale, sweet and innocent but was quickly turning into something completely new and different - like nothing Yami had experienced before. 

But he  _ liked _ it. 

From the way Kaiba’s mouth seemed to exhale the quietest of noises, desperate and thick, Yami could tell Kaiba was liking this just as much as he was. Kaiba’s hands just slowly burned a fiery trail in their wake, gliding across Yami’s smooth cheeks and finding their home on top of his jacket-covered shoulders. 

Before Yami could stop himself, his own hands moved of their own volition. His smaller, stronger hands found their way to Kaiba’s body, cementing themselves just underneath his armpits. 

Kaiba’s breath hitched when he felt the hands under his arms, a sensitive place that not even past lovers would dare to touch. With a solid and confident tug upwards, Yami spoke against Kaiba’s thinner lips. “Up, Kaiba.” His voice like a smooth dark chocolate to Kaiba. A rolling wave of unshakable certainty that Kaiba couldn’t disagree with. 

“Seto.” Kaiba spoke up as he let his body move upwards at the command. Yami’s relaxed yet warm body leaned back against the chair, a bold smirk on his face that made Kaiba’s stomach drop 50 stories in a second. “I want you to call me Seto.”

“Alright, Seto.” Yami’s voice splashed against Seto’s face as another wave of the deep tonality hit his ears. He had never imagined just having someone call him by his first name would be such an intimate act, yet here he was, weak in the knees after Yami simply spoke one word to him. 

In the blink of an eye, Yami had Seto straddling his lap. Long, lean-muscled legs framed thin, jean-clad hips. Thankfully the chairs that had been placed in front of the table had been large, plush and perfect for whatever the hell Yami and Seto’s instincts were telling them to do. Their lips had stayed connected while they moved and situated themselves into the most comfortable position. Bony knees pressed into the cushions finally, while strong, tanned hands gripped an equalled bony pair of hips. 

“Yami…” Seto gasped, his head pulling back from his soulmate’s to take a deep breath. “What the hell are we doing?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed as he stared into the glassy orbs of the man he was going to learn to love. 

Yami couldn’t help but chuckle, he had listened to enough romance novels to know exactly where this was supposed to lead. “You just had your coloring Seto.” Yami’s voice was a deep ocean again, drowning him in the sexuality this situation was turning into. “Where do you think this is going, baby?” Those sinful lips asked, pressing themselves against Seto’s temple to speak. 

With the new pet name, two thoughts ran through Seto’s mind. Of course, one of those just went straight southwards, while the other made him question just how much sexual experience his blind soulmate had in the past. He would have snapped in frustration and embarrassment at anyone who would have dared call him ‘baby’ in the past, however, hearing them pass Yami’s lips was like a searing hot rod burning through his core. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” Seto whispered to himself, although he knew with their close proximity that Yami was hearing him too. 

“Shh… Don’t you want this, Seto?” Yami’s hands moved down to the cold metal of the Kaiba Corporation branded belt buckle that stood as a barrier to what his hands wanted. “Don’t you want me?”

“More than anything right now…” He trailed off, his eyes closing and his head moving back to take a breath of the fresh air. The coldness of the room temperature air stung his lungs, but his mind could hardly process as a loud  _ clunk  _ resounded through the room. His metallic belt buckle hitting the equally metal flooring. 

“Then just enjoy. If you promise me now that you can try to respect me as your equal, then I’m more than happy to give you what you want.” Yami purred like a cat, his quick fingers popping open the button of Kaiba’s pants and then pulling down the zipper. His flat, warm palm pressing to the bulged outline of Kaiba’s underwear in the opening of his pants. 

Kaiba knew exactly what Yami was asking for. Yami didn’t want to be forgotten after they finished their little session. He didn’t want his soulmate to treat him like a toy to be forgotten about when not in use. He wanted them to be equal partners. 

“Learn to play Duel Monsters, and then we can talk about being equals.” Kaiba was quick to reply, although the heavy pants that left his lips were starting to make him sound a little unintelligible. 

Damn, did Yami like hearing those small moans and gasps, just hearing Seto fall to pieces, and feeling the cock under his hand grow harder with more stimulation. He figured the two of them were just having playful banter. A little foreplay before the performance. “I’ll duel you when Braille cards come to the market.” A chuckle passed his lips. “Now get up.”

Seto didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled himself away, taking the moment apart to calm himself down. The tall CEO watched as Yami practically ripped open his jeans like an animal, his hips arching to push the waistband of his underwear and the upper hem of his pants down to rest on his upper thighs. Yami figured Seto would take this time to pull off his own pants and grab whatever lube they would need. He had read plenty of novels to know lube was a necessity in a situation like this. 

“Seto, baby? I don’t hear you doing anything, are you alright?” Yami asked, concern lacing his voice. 

Of course, Seto had been stunned silent. His eyes stuck on Yami’s cock like he was fly to a lantern. Definitely not the sexiest comparison he could have made in his mind, but damn he was stuck like glue to his man.  _ His man...  _ Not very long, but thick, and looking absolutely delicious. He was uncut, and his pubes had clearly grown a little out of control, but Seto didn’t mind that at all. He looked wild, and Seto had never wanted a man inside him more in his entire life than right at that moment. “Sorry. Sorry, I was distracted.” 

Yami had to admit his ego swelled with that confession. He knew  _ exactly _ what was making Seto so distracted. 

He muttered, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He turned himself away to keep his mind focused on the goal at hand. And it wasn’t like Yami was going to know if he turned himself away. Seto threw his pants off in a matter of seconds, and was returning to Yami’s lap before Yami could ask him any more questions. 

“Have you had sex before?” Seto asked out of nowhere as he lowered himself back onto Yami’s lap. His now bare knees pressing right back into the cushions of the chair around Yami’s hips. Although Yami could feel Seto’s subtle movements on top of him, he really had no clue what was keeping Seto from interacting with him. He almost felt as if the taller man was just stalling, or maybe he was staring at Yami again?

“No, but I like to think I know what I’m doing.” Yami had no shame about never having sex. It was hard enough to find someone that would go on a date with him, let alone have sex, but it wasn’t as if he had been actively trying to date. “How about you?”

“Yes, but it never meant anything.” Seto grunted, and that concerned Yami. The smaller man had simply been sitting in the chair, dick out as he held Seto’s slightly trembling thighs. He himself wasn’t being played with and he had not a clue what Seto was doing. 

“What’s going on? Are you touching yourself?” Yami could have easily reached between them to feel if Seto’s hand was wrapped around his own cock, but he didn’t want that to be the reason why he first touched his soulmate. 

“What? No.” Seto grunted again, sounding almost confused. To him, it was clear what was happening in that chair right at that moment. He was going to have to get into the habit of remembering his partner couldn’t exactly see what was happening before him. “I’m stretching myself. I’m almost done.” He promised. “If you’re bored, feel free to touch me.” Seto goaded, a sly smirk on his face that he knew Yami couldn’t see, but would absolutely be able to hear. 

Everything made sense to Yami now. He had heard and read all about this part of sex from his novels, and he really wanted to slap himself for not realizing it sooner. Thankfully, he had been given permission to touch the one thing he wanted. 

One hand moved from smooth, thin thighs towards the junction between Seto’s crotch and his hip. “Oh Seto.” He blinked at the smoothness of the skin, like a silky linen fresh out of the drier. “You shave?” He asked in an almost patronizing tone. All he got was another grunt and a small gasp in response. “You know, you’re going to have to learn to be louder when we do this. I can’t exactly see if you’re enjoying yourself.” His comment was a bit louder, only this time he got no response. Yami figured the taller man must have been distracted. 

His hand finally connected to Seto’s manhood. All he had to compare it to was his own cock and the extreme detail his novels would sometimes get into when describing body parts. Seto was Long, and smooth. He was hard, and the tip was slightly wet from how turned on he apparently was. “ _ So excited _ .” Yami chuckled, his hand circling around the head. His thumb grazed the slit on top, as his forefinger traced along the underside of the head, the most sensitive part. Seto was cut but Yami could only tell that there was a significant difference in the way their cocks smoothed over the head. He could feel veins pop along Seto’s length and he figured they better get to business soon. 

“Are you ready?” Yami asked, taking a deep breath. He felt like he had been waiting for hours. 

“One more thing…” Seto responded. Yami could hear a small ripping sound and he felt an almost rubber-like material against the tip of his length. He had never touched a condom before, but he wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what Seto was doing. Seto had gripped his length as soon as the condom had been rolled on fully, and Yami could feel the large bony hand stroking him a few good times. Tight and a good warm up to what he was about to feel. “Alright let’s do this.”

A smile spread across Yami’s face. He was so ready. His heart raced like a cheetah, blood pumping through his veins and down to his cock like he had just run 5 miles at full sprint. His hands touched that beautifully smooth skin of Seto’s parted, accepting thighs again. Yami could feel the tight ring of muscles against the tip of his cock, pressing, tight, but trusting, welcome, and receiving. 

Seto took in a deep breath, his shaking breath leaving his lips as he finally pressed down. “Oh fuck, Yami…” He moaned, feeling his soulmate already pressed in to the hilt. And before he could even collect his thoughts, they had found a rhythm. Their dance wasn’t complicated, and had been performed since the beginning of time. Yami moved with confidence as always, each heave of his chest, each upward thrust of his hips was executed beautifully. Seto himself was as open as he could be, his fingers gripped tight around the dark tank top Yami wore under his jacket. 

Yami could feel the way Seto rolled his body like the shifting tectonic plates of an earthquake, and he could hear his moans and gasps like little whispers of the wind against his ear. It was the perfect symphony to accompany their samba. Seto could feel Yami’s bare arms wrapping around his waist, pulling him close and leveraging his core so that his hips could push and drive deeper into him. He could hear the exhales from his new soulmate, and feel the heavy and hot breaths against his collarbone. 

“Seto.” Yami spoke suddenly, his thrusts growing harder, deeper and more desperate. “I’m too close. Do you want me to pull out?” Yami panted, not realizing just how wrecked he sounded until that moment. 

“You have a condom, you can just come.” Seto spoke quickly, as if his breath couldn’t hold long enough to speak sentences any longer than that. “Touch me. I want to come together.”

Yami didn’t need to be told twice. His hand wrapped around Seto’s cock, as if it belonged there, stroking in time with his own thrusts. “Yes. Yes.  _ Yes- _ ” Seto was drowning in Yami’s wave again, the tsunami that reared close to shore, just outside his sandy beaches. 

Bubbling heat reached the surface at the same time for both soulmates. The volcano erupted inside Seto, the lava overflowing and exploding against the tsunami that flooded the shores. Like two ancient titans crashing against each other and creating pleasure on such a molecular level. Their moans cut through the quietness of the room like a steak knife though soft butter. 

Seto’s seed spilled over Yami’s fist, the grip stroking until he heard Seto’s moans quiet down. Yami wondered for a brief moment if he should lick and taste his soulmate, but figured that he would have plenty of time later to try his partner’s semen. Seto himself pulled his hips up and plopped himself back down on Yami’s thighs, his breath slowing by the second. 

A small chuckle passed one of their lips, neither was sure who started it, but as they sat there in their post coital mess, their laughs began to grow. They chuckled and laughed at each other, at themselves, their situation, and what they had just done together. 

Seto’s hands reached out to cup Yami’s face, their chuckles and blissful laughs only calming slightly as Seto pressed their foreheads together. 

Sweet soft kisses were shared between them, little lightning bolts sparked between them as they pressed closer to each other. 

They were back in their fairy tale, and Yami didn’t need vision to see that they were clearly meant to be.

 

\--

 

Yami lay on his back, his own soft sheets all around him on that slightly warmer fall Wednesday a little over a month after Battle City. His eyes closed and his earbuds pressed into his ears as he listened to one of his usual romance novels. Whenever he listened now, all he could think about was his soulmate. His tall, toned, warm soulmate.  _ Seto Kaiba _ . 

They hadn’t seen each other since Battle City, but the text messages they shared seemed to never stop. And they often made Yami blush more than his romance novels ever had. 

Three knocks rang through his ears and between the words of his audiobook, forcing Yami to slip off his earbuds. “Come in.” He yelled out to whoever was on the other side of his door. 

“Yami!” His mother burst into the room, sounding excited and happier than ever. “I have a letter here for you.” She spoke in an almost singing tone. “It’s from your soulmate, Seto Kaiba.”

Now that intrigued Yami. They texted every day. What was the point of sending a letter? 

“It’s pretty thick, it seems like a package.” His mother kept talking, the tell-tale rip of the top of the letter telling Yami that his mother was opening up the package to read it to him. Well a package made much more sense than just a letter. He knew Seto was a rich man, perhaps his lover had sent him an expensive gift. 

“Oh.” His mother spoke, surprised and a little disappointed. “I can’t read this.” She sighed, handing over the small slip of paper to her oldest son. 

Yami held the letter a small post-it note sized paper. It was almost cardboard thick, but had the familiar raised bumps and dots of Braille. He was fairly impressed Kaiba had taken the time to have an expensive letter written in a form he probably didn’t know anything about. 

‘ _ Yami. I want to Duel you more than I want to make love to you.’ _

Yami flushed almost immediately, extremely glad his mother didn’t know how to read Braille. At least not as well as Yami himself did. He placed the card next to him on the bed and took the rest of the package from his mother. 

He really should have known what was inside, but knowing beforehand didn’t make it any less special. Yami took out a small, thick card, but bigger than even the card Seto had written the letter on. He felt along the top right corner of the card, knowing the Braille would start there. 

  
In raised dots, he felt words ‘ _ Dark Magician. _ ’

 

\-- The End --

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fic! I hope everyone who read to the end enjoyed it. I hope to write many more fics in the future!


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